Rick Parfitt Jnr. Bentley bound with new British GT deal

Former British GT GT4 champion Rick Parfitt Jnr. will become a Bentley Boy in the 2016 British GT Championship as he inks a deal with Team Parker Racing.

Parfitt, who was the 2013 GT4 champion, moved into GT3 last year with the Team LNT Ginetta G55 GT3 in which he scored a hard-earned fourth place at a storm hit Snetterton to claim his best result of the year.

Now, he takes his considerable experience to Team Parker Racing who are moving from racing Audis to racing two Bentley’s in both British GT and the Blancpain GT Series.

The racer admitted getting behind the wheel of the Bentley Continental GT3 would be a great feeling: “This is a fantastic step for me in my racing career; to be associated with such an iconic brand and to be joining Stuart and his fantastic team is a dream come true.

“British GT in 2016 is going to be the most competitive it has ever been with an amazing array of cars and drivers. It will be a real spectacle, but I feel confident that we can hit the ground running and push for podiums straight from the off.

“I have always been very competitive, whether it’s on stage or in a race car. Stuart Parker and I share the same vision, which is to bring Bentley back to the top step of the podium.”

This will be Bentley’s first appearance in the championship since 2014, with the marque focussing on European racing in 2015 with success in the Blancpain Sprint Series.

Team Parker also tasted European success with the team’s Audi R8 LMS Ultra winning the Am Class at the Spa 24 Hours. Now team boss Stuart Parker is looking forward to a new chapter: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Rick into the team. We have known each other for many years and to get the opportunity to work in the British GT Championship together with Bentley is fantastic.

“Rick’s infectious enthusiasm is already motivating the team ahead of what will be an incredibly competitive season. We look forward to being able to announce Rick’s team-mate in the very near future.”

Further information on the rest of Team Parker Racing’s driver line-ups will be revealed in the near future.